Bacon-Infused Carolina Fish Muddle

There are two keys to making this rich, smoky stew as good as it can be: Enhance the flavor of the broth with shrimp shells, and gently simmer the shrimp and fish so as not to overcook them. If you want to skip the homemade shrimp stock, substitute 2 cups of fish stock from your fishmonger or 2 cups of bottled clam juice.

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring constantly, until pink. Add 3 cups water and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until liquid is reduced to 2 cups. Strain stock, discarding shells. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill stock and shrimp separately.

Tie thyme sprigs and bay leaves into a bundle with kitchen twine; set aside. Pulse tomatoes with juices in a food processor until chunky purée forms; set aside. Heat bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until some of fat is rendered and bacon is just beginning to crisp, 10-15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings for croutons.

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Reviews

OK first review--more like 3 forks but couldn't get the fork thing to work properly. Wow! Serves six? Maybe six professional football players?!? Husband & I ate it (and I know we didn't have 3 lbs of fish in it), one of us had seconds and the tupperware that I had to store the leftovers in was a full 3.5L size. It was tasty but way too much veg! Like I said, I know I didn't use as much fish --1lb shrimp and probably more like 1.3lb fish (grouper) and it was still huge! We had to change pans after we added all the vegetables, "I think we need a bigger boat!" I think easily could have cut the veg in half (including the 2 cans of tomatoes) and I don't think potatoes added anything to the party. Would make again but would change the ratios.

This is a great basis for muddle. All sorts of fish can be used including pond fish which are in abundance here in North Carolina. As far as grits, when I'm far away and can't find any, I made cornmeal mush, or polenta as it's known in some parts.

I didn't have grits handy, so I served this on crispy rice cakes -- prepare white rice according to instructions, spread it on a cookie sheet and dry it in the oven uncovered 350F for 30mins while stirring every 15mins, form into flat rice cakes (resembling size/shape of hockey pucks), broil the tops for 3 minutes until golden. This gives some nice crunchy contrast, with the rice becoming similar to the texture you'd fine in bibimbop (Korean stone pot rice).
I also reserved some of the bacon to sprinkle on top so it stayed crispy, and added some breaded fried perch (soak perch in milk, dip in flour seasoned with salt and paprika, fry in a skillet with butter).
Overall, the dish as written (i.e. disregarding my additions) was fair, although not particularly unique. It tasted more or less like a cioppino with a bit more bacon flavor.

Excellent! I used shrimp, scallops and tilapia. My wife
Doesn't like heat so i left out the seeds from the jalapeño and just added the Chalula hot sauce in my serving. We'll definitely make this again!